Addi­tion­al New Law for Lake Coun­ty Boaters

Last week, we touched on the new con­ser­va­tion laws imple­ment­ed for boaters in Lake Coun­ty.

To recap the SB3434 law sug­gests that a Lake Coun­ty boater could have their boat seized if a size­able amount of liquor or 10 + car­tons of cig­a­rettes are on board. The law also indi­cates that if drugs or alchohol is used in a high amount and cause bod­i­ly harm, dis­fig­ure­ment or death to anoth­er indi­vid­ual you could have your boat not only seized, but also receive a sus­pen­sion or revo­ca­tion of your license.

The SB3433 is a law that spec­i­fies that any­one born after Jan­u­ary 1, 1998 must pass a boat­ing safe­ty class. The Wau­con­da Park Dis­trict is pro­vid­ing all boaters in Lake Coun­ty an About Boat­ing Safe­ty Course (at $31.00). Fea­tured in the class, you will obtain a boat­ing license or safe­ty cer­ti­fi­ca­tion. You will learn about boat­ing laws, safe­ty equip­ment, nav­i­ga­tion, boat­ing prob­lems and much more.

Anoth­er new con­ser­va­tion law enforced by the Depart­ment of Nat­ur­al Resources is the orange flag you must fly over your water­craft dur­ing tow­ing purposes.

​“The oper­a­tor of any water­craft that is tow­ing a per­son or per­sons shall dis­play on the water­craft a bright or bril­liant orange flag mea­sur­ing not less than 12 inch­es per side.”

​“The flag shall be dis­played at the high­est point of the area sur­round­ing the boat’s helm as to be vis­i­ble from all direc­tions, con­tin­u­ous­ly, while the per­son or per­sons being towed depart the boat in prepa­ra­tion for tow­ing and until reen­try into the boat when the activ­i­ty has ceased. Dis­play of the flag for pur­pos­es than the activ­i­ty described in this sec­tion is prohibited.”

So remem­ber when you’re get­ting your boat ready to coast on Lake Michi­gan, Chain O’ Lakes,Spring Lake or any of the oth­er 70-some­thing lakes out in Lake Coun­ty, be pre­pared for the new laws at hand.